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Tuesday, March 22, 2011

HANCOCK COUNTY, W.Va. -- A Hancock County man was arrested late Wednesday evening after, police said, he mutilated and killed 29 dogs and held a woman captive for several months.

Jeffrey Nally Jr., 19, is charged with 29 counts of animal cruelty, one count of domestic battery and one count of kidnapping.

Nally was taken into custody after a SWAT team converged on his home at 1855 Orchard Lane. The home is in the north end of the county, off Route 8.

The female victim was also removed without incident, police said. She was a former girlfriend of the suspect that had voluntarily moved into the home in December but had since been the victim of physical and sexual abuse, police said.

Officials in Hancock County became aware of the situation Wednesday after the victim’s mother contacted the West Virginia State Police. The victim’s mother told an officer that Nally had stated that he would kill any officer that showed up to arrest him. The woman also told police that Nally threatened to kill the woman and himself.

Officials with the West Virginia State Police contacted the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office to assemble a SWAT team. The SWAT team was briefed on the matter and converged on the house around 9 p.m.

After taking the suspect into custody and obtaining a search warrant, police said they found 29 dead dogs on the property. Some had been recently killed, officers reported. Some of the carcasses were found buried in the yard of the home, others were wrapped in plastic.

Police believe Nally began killing the animals in January.

“Mutilated, skinned, anything you can imagine,” said Chief Deputy Todd Murray of the animals. “[Nally used] everything from a crossbow, to a drill, saws to hammers. There were several means he used to [mutilate and kill the dogs].”

Murray added that it appeared the suspect used a different tool to kill each dog.

According to court documents, officers even found two dogs eyes in a mason jar.

"One dog had been shot several times. One dog had blunt force trauma to the head. One dog, we think, had its neck snapped," said Nicole Busick, Hancock County Dog Warden.

The dogs were killed inside of the home, according to Murray. Police believe that Nally got pleasure from making his victim watch as he tortured and killed the animals.

“After the dogs were killed, he would make her clean up,” Murray said.

Three dogs were also found alive at the home. Police said the female told them all three were also set to be killed. One of the dogs rescued from the home was a black lab puppy. It had siblings that were killed.

Nally used classified ads to locate and obtain the animals, often finding people to willingly drop off their pets thinking they had found a good home, police said.

Police reported that he had been given many of the animals for free and had paid a small amount for the others.

"I'd like to give people the benefit of the doubt that they didn't know what was going on," said Busick.

Most of the animals killed were puppies.

Police also recovered several guns inside the home. Police said the guns were also purchased through classified listings.

Nally was already under home confinement for having guns as a convicted criminal. Police said they pulled weapons from Nally's home back in June. In April 2010, he was convicted of domestic battery.

Nally now faces more charges including kidnapping, domestic battery and 29 counts of animal cruelty.

The three dogs recovered from the home were turned over to county officials. The three animals were all quickly adopted.

New video in from Brian Barnes of StormTours http://www.stormtours.comwho was in Otsuchi Japan which was near the Epicenter of the 9.0 Earthquake and north of the city of Sendai Japan.

*** Please think before you post a comment because they were focused on trying to stay alive vs shooting video ***

He went to Otsuchi Japan as part of a volunteer group for Save Japan Dolphins (SJD) http://www.savejapandolphins.org that is operated by Earth Island Institute and lead by Ric O'Barry of the Oscar winning movie "The Cove" to document the largest slaughter of cetaceans in the world, the Dall's porpoise slaughter.

I met up with Scott West and Tarah Millen who were there with the Sea Sheppard Conservation Society (SSCS). We agreed to go to Otsuchi together because the area has had very little western activist in it in the past and the fishermen there have shown aggressive violent behavior to those who have previously monitored the Dall's porpoise hunt, we figured we would need to watch each others backs.

Brian said "We were scouting out the location and were filming the docks and the Porpoise fishermen in the harbor when the earthquake hit." He said that he jumped out of the car and tried to start filming the earthquake but it was so up/down, and back/forth that I could barely get the camera started.

In the video he shot you can see the earthquake was still shaking the area their rental car moving back and fourth. Brian said "I think my instincts with disasters from my years of Storm Chasing just sort of took over. I've never been in anything like that before and I knew it was major but I guess you still just see it as a natural disaster at the time and instinctively do the "chase" thing, if that makes sense. We really shouldn't be alive."

As soon as the ground stopped shacking we got in our rental car and were followed by another car with SSCS volunteers and headed to the top of a hill overlooking the town just before the 25 meter high Tsunami hit where we were just standing only minutes before. The time from the Earthquake to the Tsunami striking Otsuchi was about eight minutes.

The Tsunami reduced the city to ruins and the tsunami protection wall that was built to save the city was smashed and washed out to sea, everything was completely destroyed. Brian watched as the ocean recede and then rushed back in at least a dozen times where at one point the entire ocean floor was exposed. At one point we saw and heard a woman in the water screaming for help, but she was washed out to sea before they could do anything to rescue her.

"We saw cars and what was left of homes floating in the water and what was not destroyed in the Tsunami was burned up in the massive fire that started after the Tsunami.

We were stuck on this hill because the road at the bottom on either side was completely gone and had to take shelter in our rental cars for the night. The rental cars they had are still on the hill side where they had to abandon them since the road below was gone.

In the morning we got up and abandoned their rental cars on the road up on the hill and hiked back into town. They started seeing the dead bodies everywhere. A woman hanging from a tree where the wave left her, people dead in what was left of their cars, total devastation. It took us an entire day to walk out of the town, rubble doesn't even describe what we saw. To bring home the massive destruction, Hurricane Katrina and the Greensberg Kansas Tornado, those disasters are nothing compared to this. Every car we saw was smashed along with just about every wooden home was destroyed.

There wasn't one thing left standing, it looked like something out of a world war two film after the war ended.

We finally made it to safety after climbing over the ruins of houses and walking over burning rubble and back to our hotel in Tono before paying a kings ransom to take a taxi to Akita Japan where I'm waiting for a flight back to America.

On March 11th, 2011 Save Japan Dolphins volunteer Brian Barnes and his companions witnessed hell on Earth, but also experienced great kindness from strangers in the wake of Japan's devastating earthquake and tsunami.

His companions who were with SSCS and himself barely made it to higher ground on a nearby hill that overlooked the town before Otsuchi was completely destroyed by the Tsunami. After the Tsunami, they had to spend the night on the hill as the city was on fire. The next morning they had to abandon their rental cars since the road below them was no longer there and spent the day walking through the burning remains of the city. Brian said that the walk through what can only be described as hell on earth just to find a way back to the main road and away from the coast.

He tried his best to document the events while fearing of another Tsunami as the area was being hit with strong aftershocks.

The following shows the aftermath after the water receded before finally getting to the mountain road leading to Tono.

Help for the People and Animals of Japan

The nation of Japan is in the midst of its worst crisis since World War II, and it began with a massive 9.0 earthquake which then spawned a deadly tsunami. The earthquake and tsunami have wrought almost unimaginable destruction, including an unfolding drama with the severely damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant now hemorrhaging radioactive elements into the atmosphere.

We feel for the human victims of this cataclysm. We of course also feel for the countless thousands of animal victims.

Humane Society International, our global arm, is in touch with Japanese animal protection organizations, helping to assess and to anticipate animal-related needs. In the days and weeks ahead, we’ll do all that we can to help them, with financial support, personnel, and technical assistance.

AP Photo/The Yomiuri Shimbun, Daisuke UragamiA family with their dog at a shelter in Japan.

Our disaster response team is in the Philippines, waiting to deploy, and coordinating our contact with Japanese groups. When we have properly assessed the risks and complications that increased radiation levels from the nuclear plants might pose for successful deployment, we’ll send field responders to the stricken zone.

One Japanese correspondent tells us, “The local media reported running into a man walking through the rubble. He said he was looking for his wife…and when the reporter looked again a small Chihuahua was peeking out from under his overcoat. ‘I ran as fast as I could with him and the cat, but the cat got lost in the turmoil...’ were his words.”

Japan has a growing humane movement, and some prior experience with pet evacuation and related challenges. Its government has understandably applied rather strict controls on who can or cannot enter the disaster area and as things are shaping up, a few key groups are working to set up a supply system to support shelters and people in the affected region.

Both The HSUS and HSI plan to provide expertise and funding to support rescue and response efforts in the crisis, and to lay the groundwork for the restoration of animal care in the devastated communities in the longer term.

This is the approach we’ve taken in Haiti, since the January 2010 earthquake there, and in the Gulf States, afterHurricane Katrina struck in 2005. In both instances, our initial deployment represented just a first step toward long-term investments of money, expertise, and personnel, which continue to this day. As a donor to our international disaster fund, you’ll help to secure the same result in Japan.

It is not lost upon any of us at HSUS that the government of Japan has been no ally of animal protection, launching commercial whaling boats throughout the Pacific and Antarctic Oceans, fighting wildlife protection proposals at international conventions, and generally not evincing much sympathy for the cause of animal protection. But today, more than ever, we are allies of the island nation, and we send our prayers to the suffering people and animals inhabiting the country. We will be sending help in days and weeks and months ahead.

The animals associated with this organization aren't victims -- they are the heroes. Search dogs are an integral part of any rescue effort. According to theSearch Dog Foundation, "After a disaster, when buildings have crumbed to the ground, dogs can search much more quickly and safely than people can."

These dogs are highly trained to find victims who would otherwise remain buried, as they are able to "crawl through tunnels, walk up and down ladders, and walk on wobbly surfaces and over debris and rubble." Currently 21 SDF canine disaster search teams have deployed in Japan to search for victims in the destruction.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

DES MOINES, Iowa -- A bill making it a felony to produce and distribute videos showing animal abuse on farms was approved by the House and a similar bill approved by a Senate committee Thursday morning.

Proposed penalties include up to five years in prison and fines of up to $7,500.

The Senate Agriculture Committee passed House File 589 unanimously. It will now go to the full Senate for debate.

The bill passed the House by a vote of 65 for and 27 against. Nine Democrats voted in favor of the bill.

Animal rights activists said Iowa would be the first state to approve such restrictions, although Florida is considering similar legislation.

Rep. Annette Sweeney, the bill's sponsor, said she believes it will pass in Senate because its not a partisan issue, its about the Iowa's food supply, which she said affects us all.

Sweeney said the bill will protect livestock. An amendment took out protections for animal companions. Commercial breeders, those that sell to pet stores, would still be protected under bill.

Animal rights groups are upset about the bill saying it targets animal abuse whistleblowers. Some Iowa farmers said Monday that those people are the criminals and are giving the animal industry a bad name.

Sweeney said the videos aren't just a public relations nightmare for the industry, but they've also sparked bioterrorism fears among farmers.

“Anybody generally coming onto your place with farm animals, and what they might have a disease on their person, we want to make sure who is coming on and off our property,” Sweeney said.

“For every one farmer we feed 155 people and so it’s very important to keep our food source so we can keep feeding the nation,” said Sweeney.

She said the videos discredit Iowa's farm industry and create biosafety fears among farmers.

“The problem is with some of those videos that they are staged. They come into a facility and they abuse the animals and that’s what we want to stop. We want to stop animal abuse,” said Sweeney.

Some lawmakers who opposed the bill said they're concerned about animal cruelty not being reported.

“If something is really happening out there and someone takes a legitimate pictures of something happening, I think they should have a right to do that and not feat that they could be prosecuted,” said Rep. Jim Lykam.

At a press conference, animal rights activist Matt Rice showed pictures of animal abuse he said the legislation would shelter. Rice calls the bill a threat to animal welfare and freedom of press and speech.

“Legislations should focus on strengthening animal cruelty laws, not prosecuting those who blow the whistle on animal abuse,” said Lykam.

Sweeney said the bill doesn't turn a blind eye to animal cruelty but ensures the safety of animals and food in Iowa.

“If you ever suspect any kind of animal abuse or anything that you might see that concerns you, go to the proper authorities,” said Sweeney.

Monday, March 7, 2011

The Humane Society of the United States assisted the Houston County Sheriff’s Department in the rescue of 197 dogs and 31 cats who were found living in deplorable conditions in Gordon, Ala. The animals were removed from Dirty Sally’s Pet Pals, a non-profit organization that claims to offer animals for adoption. The organization has relinquished ownership of all of the animals to the Houston County Sheriff’s Department.

This rescue is the first that The HSUS has conducted using funds from the Pepsi Refresh Project. The HSUS recently won $250,000 dollars in the Pepsi Challenge by getting the most votes for its proposal to rescue animals from cruelty and neglect.

“Whether Dirty Sally’s started with good intentions, it is now clear that the organization is unable to properly care for this number of animals, and we want to make sure they get the care they need,” said Mindy Gilbert, Alabama state director for The HSUS. “We are grateful to all of the groups that came together to assist in this rescue and help give these animals a second chance at healthy, happy lives.”

When responders arrived on the scene they found breeds ranging from hound mixes to Labrador retriever mixes housed throughout the property. A veterinarian on the scene determined that many of the dogs suffered from medical ailments such as skin infections, untreated wounds and other serious ailments. The cats were living in a dirty pen with little safety from the elements. The dogs were being housed in feces-ridden outdoor pens, inside several dilapidated trailers and chained to trees throughout the property.

This rescue was set into motion by the Houston County Sheriff’s Department, which received tips about allegedly cruel conditions and neglected animals in need of veterinary care and reached out to The HSUS for assistance with animal handling, transportation, sheltering and much-needed supplies. The HSUS then called in United Animal Nations to provide animal care and sheltering support. PetSmart Charities® donated food and other supplies to the rescue efforts. Further assistance was provided by Lee County Humane Society, Alabama Animal Control Association, Montgomery Humane Society, Greater Birmingham Humane Society and Chilton County Humane Society.

All of the animals are being safely removed and transported to an emergency shelter where they will be examined by a team of veterinarians and receive any necessary immediate medical care. The HSUS and UAN will provide the daily care of the animals until they are placed with rescue groups.

If you are a rescue group in the area that would like to join our Emergency Services Placement Partner Program and potentially take in some of these rescued animals please fill out the application here.

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Paws On My Heart Blog

According to the American Humane Association, nearly 10 million animals are euthanized annually in the United States. That's 833,333 every month- 208,333 every week - 27,778 each day - 1,157 every hour! Or...think of it this way - 19 companion animals are put to sleep every minute of every hour of every day each year!! PLEASE do your part by having your pet spayed or neutered!!